I am ashamed to say that, with the exception of a few random prints here and there, I have not ordered pictures of my daughter in over a year. I recently placed an order with a print lab I'm considering for my baby photography business to test their product, but I haven't consciously gone through and picked "must have" pictures and ordered them since October of last year.
Tonight, I started going back in time to try and pick some to fill out the photo album and scrapbook I've been putting together for Angelica's first year. This is a near impossible feat. She was a really cute baby, and I literally have thousands of pictures of her to choose from.
One side effect I was not expecting, though, was to look at pictures of her from a year ago and be overcome with a sense of sadness. At almost 18 months, she has shed every hint of babyhood and is a full-fledged toddler. She's traded the comfort of mommy's arms at to fall asleep for a story and "nite nite mommy, byebye!", traded the bottle for the sippy cup, traded the high chair for a booster seat (her choice, not mine!), traded baby coos for yelling and screaming. With all of this has emerged a (sometimes loud) firecracker of a personality with strong opinions and a very keen ability to say what she wants. The last remaining hint of babyhood is the diaper, but just this week she started pointing to the toilet while holding her diaper with the other hand and saying, "Mama...potty?" and asking to sit on it. While I'm sure (and hoping!) true toilet training is still quite some time away, the fact that she understands what it's for is bittersweet. I'm glad she's bright and catching on to things so quickly, but at the same time...I wish she would just slow down!
This time last year she was still not sleeping through the night, and now on some occasions we have to wake her up in the morning. My how things have changed! As I reviewed the pictures tonight, one particular photo jumped out at me...a six month old version of my daughter, curled up next to me in bed drinking a bottle...me, looking exhausted and disheveled from a night of being up with her, and her going down for her first nap of the day.
Looking at that reminded me how, at six weeks postpartum I asked my sister, 34 weeks pregnant with her second at the time..."She never sleeps, she never lets me put her down, I can't sleep, I can't shower, I can't eat! Why does anyone do this more than once?" Now I know why. If I could go back in time, I'd tell that crazy, postpartum version of myself that in 18 months she'd rather shove me away than snuggle. Maybe then I wouldn't have been so eager to put her down.
Our next baby, if we even decide to have one, is still a few years away, and at times that makes my heart ache because between the sleepless nights and crazy postpartum hormones, the sweetness and innocence of a new baby is just wonderful. Until then, I'll have to revel in the memories of my teeny tiny baby, while continuing to feel my heart swell with pride when I see the amazing little girl she is quickly becoming.
November 11, 2009
November 1, 2009
Our First Trick or Treat!
Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!
This year was the first year Angelica was "eligible" to go trick or treating. Last year on Halloween, she was only five months old, so we dressed her up in a cute outfit and took a couple of pictures, but we didn't go trick or treating.
[caption id="attachment_304" align="aligncenter" width="214" caption="Angelica on Halloween 2008"]
[/caption]
So, this year was a lot different! Halloween is probably my favorite holiday each year (though Christmas is a close second...I go back and forth on this every year), and both Scott and I were very excited to get Angelica dressed up and take her trick or treating. We had decided months ago that she would be a pirate...we were originally going to do a whole "pirate family" theme, but then decided to just focus on her.
We got her dressed up in her costume after her afternoon nap, and then let her run around and play in it. She really enjoyed it! We didn't really have any trouble getting her to wear it, and after she had it on, she really tried to act out the part.
In the days leading up to Halloween, we practiced saying "Trick or Treat" with her, and she picked it up pretty quickly! In fact, at one house she walked up to the door, pounded on it saying "knock knock knock!" and then when the man at the house answered, she said "cheetochee!" (which is how it came out when she tried to say "trick or treat"). I need to invest in a camcorder to capture moments like these.
Here's a couple of pre-Trick or Treat shots I took of her.
[caption id="attachment_309" align="aligncenter" width="214" caption="Angelica Halloween 2009"]
[/caption]
To make the day even more fun, we went trick or treating with my sister's family. Her son/my nephew is almost three, and her daughter/my niece is two months younger than Angelica. My nephew was the cutest firefighter you've ever seen, and my niece was the prettiest little princess. What a great bunch of kids they were (except, in the picture below, Angelica did not want to sit still...she had to be pulled away from the candy bowl in order to snap this very candid shot!)
Minutes after this shot was taken, five adults (my parents joined us) and three children, all under the age of three, began what was a very short journey around the neighborhood. We didn't get much candy (thank goodness) but had an abundance of fun.
(By the way, if you like these pictures and live in the Central Florida area, be sure to check out my photography site!)
This year was the first year Angelica was "eligible" to go trick or treating. Last year on Halloween, she was only five months old, so we dressed her up in a cute outfit and took a couple of pictures, but we didn't go trick or treating.
[caption id="attachment_304" align="aligncenter" width="214" caption="Angelica on Halloween 2008"]
[/caption]So, this year was a lot different! Halloween is probably my favorite holiday each year (though Christmas is a close second...I go back and forth on this every year), and both Scott and I were very excited to get Angelica dressed up and take her trick or treating. We had decided months ago that she would be a pirate...we were originally going to do a whole "pirate family" theme, but then decided to just focus on her.
We got her dressed up in her costume after her afternoon nap, and then let her run around and play in it. She really enjoyed it! We didn't really have any trouble getting her to wear it, and after she had it on, she really tried to act out the part.
In the days leading up to Halloween, we practiced saying "Trick or Treat" with her, and she picked it up pretty quickly! In fact, at one house she walked up to the door, pounded on it saying "knock knock knock!" and then when the man at the house answered, she said "cheetochee!" (which is how it came out when she tried to say "trick or treat"). I need to invest in a camcorder to capture moments like these.
Here's a couple of pre-Trick or Treat shots I took of her.
[caption id="attachment_309" align="aligncenter" width="214" caption="Angelica Halloween 2009"]
[/caption]To make the day even more fun, we went trick or treating with my sister's family. Her son/my nephew is almost three, and her daughter/my niece is two months younger than Angelica. My nephew was the cutest firefighter you've ever seen, and my niece was the prettiest little princess. What a great bunch of kids they were (except, in the picture below, Angelica did not want to sit still...she had to be pulled away from the candy bowl in order to snap this very candid shot!)
Minutes after this shot was taken, five adults (my parents joined us) and three children, all under the age of three, began what was a very short journey around the neighborhood. We didn't get much candy (thank goodness) but had an abundance of fun.
(By the way, if you like these pictures and live in the Central Florida area, be sure to check out my photography site!)
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